This was an important video for me to watch. I'm scared in hindsight that I might never have seen it.

Unexpectedly I’m crying. I thought I’d be upset but not like this. None of this is funny. Who doesn’t feel this way... who can’t relate to nightmares?

If she had been a black male adult, especially if they are not in uniform, "professional" attire, etc., or worse, knowledgeable about law and rights, she would have ended up in jail or a box.

Omg this used to happen to me as a teenager 15:03

Girl I don’t know how you guys have to do this day in and day out! You have all the LOVE 💗 I can give you from a viewer but it is NOT enough! Please DON’T stop telling your stories! This is what needs to be heard all over the Nation and beyond! I wonder if a book could be put together, especially if there might be pictures of stories like yours! I am personally thankful you lived to see another day, week, year, years and I hope you live and damn good life and it’s filled with humor (No problem there cause you are 1 of the funniest people I have ever known), love and all that you hope it will be! 🤗💗🤗💗🤗💗🤗💗🤗💗🤗💗

Amber, these stories are horrible, but needed to be told regularly Please Keep the Funny

The news automatically go with what the police say never saying allegedly.😢

Just watched this again. It still breaks my heart.

She lying her ass off

Amber is a black women anthony is a black men and there's a little female white officer with her hands on her gun. ooops.

I can't wait to read your book I think it's so important I feel ridiculous that I've been unaware how common. It's important that no matter how painful that these stories get shared because the passive, unaware masses need to read it hear it and know about it because not enough people are uncomfortable that this happens. You are a lovely artsy funny smart and compassionate person don't be afraid of making people uncomfortable they need to be uncomfortable. White people have an obligation to be better human's and it's horrendous how scared black people have felt particularly by people who are supposed to be making everyone feel safe.

Thank you, Amber. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Why does her voice during the cop impression remind me of Wendy O Williams in the Plasmatics song Fast Food Service?

Those cops you encountered are psychopaths. "Actors" who know how to use fear to get what they want and don't care about who they'd hurt. That describes a lot of bigots at some level.

four hundred and elven DEAD SOULS have decided to, after haring all this (have they watched it, I wonder) They must be Very Unhappy humans that's all I can conclude You are so cool Amber; and the way you thought to think of good things cos u thought u were gonna die, in the first incredible instance, is just so beautiful but outlandish!

Police Barbarity.

I’m listening.

Cry Out Loud…

As a Black person (non-american), I'm livid.

Same here and I’m a 55 year old white woman!

Wow it's true because white people never get speeding tickets. And the police never shout at white people. Never.

I know a black colleague who visited Europe several years ago. There had been a huge terrorist attack in Paris shortly before that. He went to Spain with his wife, drove through France to Italy. One his friends back in the US asked him, aren't you scared of terrorism there? He answered, nothing that's ever happened to me outside the US has been half as terrifying as being pulled over by the police in the US.

I can attest this to be absolutely a fact!

It is horrifying.

*It's too horrible she was dragged out of the car & beaten to death. That should have never happened to this victim-mentality.* *How much more racist can she get?*

@Anderson smith Thank you for checking that person and checking them powerfully! Saved me some typing so I appreciate that too! YOU ROCK!! 🤗💗

Not sure I get your original point: "It's too horrible she was dragged out of the car & beaten to death. That should have never happened to this victim-mentality. How much more racist can she get?" I'm just guessing, but you're saying that since she wasn't "...dragged out of the car & beaten to death." that anything lesser is O.K.? That seems like an excessively high bar to reach to demonstrate that a "peace officer" has gone too far. The second sentence doesn't really provide useful information. Are we using 'victim-mentality' now as a placeholder for people or 'those people' or to use as some sort of proper possessive noun? Which victim-mentality, by the way? Hers? Yours? It's just not clear. Much simpler would have been: 'That should have never happened to anyone.' Because it's true. That should have never happened to anyone. I've been stopped on a number of occassions and the police are always at great pains to be nice. Quite frankly, too nice as I've never gotten a ticket. In any case, your second sentence seems a bit condescending, definitely sarcastic. Pardon me if it wasn't intended so. As to your last comment, "How much more racist can she get?" Exactly how is she racist? Here, it would be helpful if you explained yourself. (Unqualified or incompetent or just plain bad police aren't or ought not be a race issue. It ought to be an issue for all of us.) Considering your follow-up comment to Obvious Internet Troll USUCKTOO, decrying a lack of "...intellectually honest debate & exchange of ideas." your first comment seems peculiarly-if I may be so bold-hypocritical. There's really nothing in it that seems particularly intellectually honest, nor is there even a hint that you'd like to exchange ideas. Obviously, USUCKTOO is also not interested in any of those things, debate or ideas, although one must admire his brevity and ability to get to his point quickly, in a very efficient manner. I leave comments like this and usually get the old 'Your comment's too long!' response, so he or she may be on to something. USUCKTOO's not changing minds, but from experience, I seldom do either, so at least he or she is in and out quickly not wasting time. I guess intellectually honest debate and the exchange of ideas really isn't on anyone's wishlist here on the old internets.

@USUCKTOO *hahaha! I always thought conservatives exaggerated when they'd claim racists would ironically call their opponents "nazis". But it's a pleasure to meet you because you're the first person I have ever actually heard use that hyperbolic accusation. Thus I stand corrected. Racists truly are twisted. Not only do they fail to judge people based on the content of their character instead of the color of their skin, but apparently racists have fully embraced fascism with classic censorship rather that intellectually honest debate & exchange of ideas. Thanks!*

Holocaust denier

Nazi

Amber Ruffin is a national treasure.

I think your problem seems to be that you have too many friends and live a full life. ... just kidding it's that the cops are all nuts and are trained to have PTSD. I'm a white man and I've had two simple but still horrible incidents with police that made me fear them, just by having them put their hands on their guns for no reason. When you know you've done absolutely nothing wrong and feel like you are not threatening them, yet they still reach for their gun. That can mess you up. Thanks for your stories. I found them helpful.

Why not, that is the real question, why not be angry?!

Thank you for that .

I read this article about a black teenager who was pulled over by a white cop. The teenager was super uptight and lots of "Yes sirs" and the cop was like "Why the hell are you acting like this?" and the teenager said 'I just want to see my mom" and I fucking cried.

The Kamala section of the show—SMOKIN’!

good on Seth for giving amber this platform and good on amber for getting it. well deserved and is doing a wonderful job.

I have been followed to my home by police, almost arrested in my front yard, stopped many times and car searched and a gun put to my head. If I were not white I probably would have been dead.

It's impossible to care about something if you don't know it's happening. When George Floyd was murdered in front of the entire world, more stories came pouring forth. I had no idea. Please continue to speak up. Please tell me SPECIFICALLY what to do to fix it. I have no idea.

Everyone who wants to live in a democracy...The power is to the people. Go to the White House telling " go away' until he goes or when the army needs to removre him. We all know what he said about soldiers and they did not forget either. You need to see that and he needs to see that we are that. He needs to look at the faces of the people he destroyed. Because he will not go by himself. https://youtu.be/PnsP1zhpNxE

I understand that racism is a problem and that police behavior is a problem but have often felt that some aspects of “woke culture” are excessive. I just have trouble with the word “systemic” in systemic racism. Thank you Amber, I think I understand better. I think woke culture is still off the rails, but the reason it exists has become very clear to me.

Biden has a big task ahead of him

Some of the cluelessness of white people today has to be generational. Racial violence has been going on a lot longer than years. I was a white teenage civil rights activist in the days when lynching was an acceptable practice in some states. I morphed into a hippie radical, and the way I looked made me a target, too. It is absolutely true that I could pass, and that would change the way bad cops treated me. But just looking straight wasn’t enough. I had to be respectful. Thank you for modeling that strategy. Every vulnerable person who values his or her life needs to learn how to deescalate. It’s not about fairness. It’s about sanity. I am now an old white woman and I haven’t been profiled in decades, but I still use that strategy when faced with a cop, because you never know. But, when I talk to younger white people about profiling, it is so far out of their experience that their jaws drop. My jaw doesn’t drop at your stories. Nevertheless, I also have taken Violence Dynamics trainings with cops, both black and white. Every single one of them was there because they wanted to be good apples. They are some of my favorite people in the world. Very few cops get any training in how to stay calm. When such training is mandatory, and scenario based, it’s very easy to tell who needs to be kept off the street. What really freaks me out is supposedly progressive cities without the political will to demand that the cops be trained and vetted, and that social services be created to relieve the burden of mental health calls. And without the will to give high salaries and tons of support to people who risk their lives doing hellish jobs. The last thing I want is to defund the police, so that the good cops will all give up and leave, and the bad cops will make Minneapolis look like Selma in the 60s.

I am appalled that black people are subjected to this behavior daily. Until this summer, I have been unaware of the extent of white privilege I come by “naturally “. I’m not special, I just live in an area with fewer people of color.

This video was the turning point for me. I now look at everything America serves to the world, through this lens: this other world where ethic minorities in the US walk in fear of the cops.

I promise you! I will do something I will say something EVERY TIME I HAVE THE OPP

I am really really sorry ... not all white people are the same ... YES most are either out right racist or perhaps they perpetuate racist bias ... I try to see where I might have those biases + I will continue to do what I can ... I am just embarrassed but I am also a POC cuz I am POOR Non College Educated + have lived as a drug addict + been in the system because of

How am I supposed to feel about being treated badly by every black cop I've ran into. As well as most of the white cops. Honestly your story's sound like best case scenarios to me. Should I blame racism or should we actually start talking about what the real problem is?

I'm biracial in Los Angeles, I'm a "redbone" and YUP, I have about 45 stories I can share! One story was ONLY because I had braids in my hair!! Individuals/Dookie braids at the age of 19....SMDH- I'm sorry Amber...I really f*cking am.

This is an excellent compilation. One story white people might try to dismiss- but someone as law-abiding & delightful as Amber having dozens of these stories? She's about as scary as a cupcake & she gets this level of threat & intimidation? That HAS to tell you institutional racism is a thing.

The last time I was pulled over I was yelled at for ten minutes. I wasnt given a ticket but something was off. I left and took a shortcut through cotton fields in AZ. As I approached my street this truck pulled up behind me five feet from my back bumper. I pulled over and pulled out my phone. He then took off. When I made a complaint I was told there were no police pulling anyone over in that area at 2am. He was a fake cop. There was another cop on the opposite side of the road also pulling someone over. Both had unmarked black pickup trucks. Another time I had a cops unknowingly follow me 27 miles on my bumper. After hitting civilization I got out of my truck with a bat to see that it was a cops. I yelled at that guy for five minutes telling him I was about to crash my car to avoid being murdered by him. I got home at 3am and called his supervisor who told me he thought I was an illegal. How white can you be when you are blasing David Soul and David Cassidy on your radio? Not all cops suck but most of them do. At least in Arizona.

I care. Wish I could give you a hug.

Sad but true

Such a joke. Stop being an ass hole and you'll be fine. Almost without exception, the last high profile cases the perp has been a thug.

Cops are either actively racist and/or just breaking laws or they are ignoring/protecting the ones who are (both including cops of any race), and that means you, if coloured anything, cannot trust even one cop. Ever watch a cop on trial with cop witnesses? It ain't pretty.

It is what is called brainwashing because they have said so many negative things about blacks people in America for so long that everyone believes I s true.Similar cigarettes you were brainwashed into thinking it is safe for financial gain guess what it’s never been safe brainwashing advertising that’s all they are doing

My best friend of 35+ years is a wonderful, brilliant Black woman I met in college. Maybe it's because of this that I have been boiling about racism for decades. The racism in this country is so bad that several of my friends are now ex-pats. Luckily they had that option. I am thrilled that apparently white America is now willing to treat more people as human beings. However, I am honestly confused about why it took so long, and what was different. Amber, thank you for being brave enough to share your experience and hopefully change some people's minds.

Thank you for helping me to see the world from your perspective.

... and I thought US was an example for the world against racial issues. an opening eye stories, this video is. i am shocked.

In a black woman. I live in Anchorage, Alaska. I've had my experiences of being harassed by police. Constantly being questioned, the screaming and I never had a weapon drawn at me but several of my black friends had just for minding their damn business. Seeing that footage of George Floyd being lynched in broad daylight made me sick. We need to dismantle and defund the police and please vote this November are institutions are being threatened now more than ever and we as a people have a voice! Lets use it!! Thank you Amber for telling your stories. Blessings to you and BLACK LIVES MATTER!! ✊✨🙏

I watched all of Amber's accounts of police harassment. I almost expected Amber to break down in tears. As a white person, with black friends, I really didn't know this was a reality for them. Looks like I need to has some uncomfortable conversations in my future.

Thank you, Amber! 💗

I feel so sad hearing what you have to do to stay alive it is terrible. In other words THINK QUICK. Having to think quickly to say the right thing to stop being shot MUST BE terrible when telling the truth sounds like they do not ever believe you. I live in Australia and things are getting worse over here but nothing like this. I have been held up by a man with a gun and it is not nice . When the police asked me what the guy looked like I said he was quite tall and he looked like Humphrey Bogart he just looked at me and asked me “who is HUMPHREY BOGART? Giving my age away here. Well when they saw the footage of the security camera they then realised what I meant. The next day the morning newspapers headline on the front page read “BOGIE STRIKES AGAIN’ short on news that day. I was working in a bank and I knew if I did not go back the next day it would not do me any good. I can only imagine how terrible it must be to live like that every day. By the way I have never seen you before Amber you are so funny , I really love watching Seth’s show especially with all that is going on in your country I feel so lucky to live in a great country. He is so funny but he tells it like it is and I like that.Keep safe all of you and Seth I think you have many fans over here.

It's horrible in a lot of areas that way. In the 70s it was driving with hair. You have lots of bad cop stories from that era if your weren't skin-headed no matter your race.

I think the cop in her first story though probably was freaking out about the noise and that it might look like a nuisance car because a car blasting rap with it being a purple car kind of gives away maybe a certain look for people who maybe a drug dealer or Thug and I hate to say the stereotype but that's just not a color of a car with it not only that but also blasting rap an area where everybody is speeding and he's trying to get people left and right but her music probably is what gave her away with the color of the car because it is considered suspicious. I mean of course white people could be in that car just as likely as black people it doesn't matter two policemen if that's what he's used to but the fact that he saw her not as a color but as a young girl who was very scared, totally didn't even need more than a millisecond to realize that he felt so bad but he's also doing his job. I won't say for a second that all cops are good cuz too many are bad especially anyone who has a racist or homophobic agenda and it happens all the time obviously, but I don't think he saw who it was driving and he's probably stressed out because that's the section where it's very dangerous and there's all these people speeding so they're only looking for cars that dare look suspicious and even I would probably pinpoint it if I was a cop and we was told to answer to what car looks like they're just going to work and what car looks like there looking suspicious and the car make model and color is everything because even if a car drove by me that was let's say a Cadillac painted gold I would still think if that's what I'm supposed to be looking for our cars that seem just suspicious and it's a time where you're supposed to be pulling people over fat you're only following what protocol you're supposed to look for and a lot of times they're not wrong. This has nothing to do with being about race because if I saw a shity ass car with smoke coming out the back and saw two f****** white Hillbillies in the car in one of them look like they were smoking something even if it was just a cigarette I would pinpoint them as easily a suspicious Target but if I'm in special look for too fast or swerving cars or cars that fit into exercise specialist category where it looks a little off like whether it's tacky car, a beat up car, or a piece of s*** truck, I'd still go after them thinking that they may be somebody that is possibly a public nuisance with a car like that and just gas can make sure that everything was up-to-date and lower the music and send them on their way so she just happen to have a very obvious car that with loud music blaring out made her a Target not to mention I think probably assumed it was a guy driving. But the fact that he actually changed so quickly into such a sweet guy I think shows that he has no racist issues and was trust short-tempered thinking it was some guy but the fact it was just a young girl, I think he just doesn't trust guys so the fact he was so nice and had calmed down to realizing that she's not a problem and just a scared new driver, he did his job by making sure the car was hers and she was insured because if you do get pulled over, the police always track 2 see if its the same person even if it's something so minor they just want to make sure it's a safe car and also is their car. but the fact he changed showed that he was quite embarrassed and didn't want to scare her because if he was it wouldn't affect him because he wouldn't have the ability to have that kind of empathy. While I do feel her other stories are heartbreaking and insane, that first one I think was just an overly stressed man doing his job at a time where he's also going to pay attention to her than the road while ticketing other people and yeah he profiled but I don't think it was about being black. like I said he was supposed to look for people that look suspicious or were speeding and her car was probably too loud. I think with that story cut him a little break here. I think the fact that he was so apologetic and seems shocked to see her as opposed to thinking it was some guy that was possibly a problem he would never have come up to her like that.

I have been fortunate enough to have good friends. Some of these friends are people of color. One of the ways that I realized that THEY value ME as a true friend is that I've HEARD stories like this. As a middle class white woman, I haven't dealt with this myself. Most people of color are understandably reluctant to talk about these incidents with white people, even those they consider friends. Many white people are able to delude themselves into thinking "it doesn't REALLY happen" or "that can't be REAL" or "stuff like that doesn't happen ANYMORE...." IT HAPPENS. ALL THE TIME. Your friends of color HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS, regardless of whether they are comfortable speaking to, or with, you about it. Like any abuse, racism persists MORE when we ignore it or pretend it doesn't happen. BLACK LIVES MATTER. Thank you, Amber, for your courage and honesty. You are a lovely human being, and you're really funny, too.

This makes me so paranoid that one day I’m going to have one of these stories and I’m so worried it won’t end well.

I am so sorry you and others have to go through this. I will do everything I can to not take my privilege for granted and always speak up and help if I am ever needed

Yes. These stories bring back emotional memories from similar events. Almost feel like crying. :-(. OMG... I am anxious, and my eyes are getting watery. Dang it! I think I am going to have to go talk with a counselor or something. Thanks, Amber Ruffin. lol. (FYI: I'll get over this brief anxiousness.)

I'm white the cops pulled a gun on me in my own home, because of something they did wrong...

Powerful.

If listening to this young woman, Amber, doesn't break your heart, you will need to get an X-ray to be sure you still have a heart!

My husband was almost home from his second job at 2 am. Yes, he had two jobs to make ends meet. He made a U turn on a side street so he could get the last open spot on our block. The police put on their lights and drew their guns--on a 60 year old black man. I was asleep, woke to the blue lights, and saw the police surrounding his car. I grab a bathrobe and go outside. He's freaked out. I ask the police, as calm as I can, what is going on. He isn't giving us his registration or insurance. I lose it. Well, maybe if you hadn't drawn GUNS on him he might have found them. I go to the passenger side and fish the papers out of the glove compartment. They confirm everything is in order and say a U turn is illegal! No ticket. In 1980, he escaped the Haitian Ton Ton Macoute who almost killed him, got in a rickety boat with other desperate people, made it to Miami (some souls didn't make it), received refugee status, paid taxes his entire life, and then this... He's the kind of person that the present US dictatorship is trying to keep out of our country. Desperate people who come to this country to find a better life; maybe like your ancestors who came to this country for the same reason. Does he love the USA despite its problems, yes. Does he love Haiti despite its problems, yes. Please VOTE in 2020.

Thank you for your story.

400 dislikes get tf out pls

Amber Ruffin: national treasure.

The fact is that racism has been (and is) at the core of our culture. What gets me is the DENIAL that it is a a daily fact. It's not sporadic or occasional or infrequent. It is systemic, it happens everyday, and the volumes of tomes filled with personal stories reeking of undeniable racism everywhere would dwarf the Encyclopedia Britannica of old. Can we resolve to make it stop NOW, please? For what it's worth: I have 2 stories about naked racism, but none of my own --a White man, wouldn't you know?

Amber's stories are breathtaking, eye-opening, and very real coming from her.  Sad most of all that this is the way it is. Everyone has to keep telling these types of stories.

I wish I could offer my pasty redhead services to someone who may feel unsafe, or unsure of their rights in the eyes of police, but what I really want is to feel like it's unnecessary. I long for the day when having a different skin color is like a different hair or eye color!

#thankyou for sharing your stories. 💔💔

Why are we White people, or Black people or Yellow or Red people. Why can't we just be people. Respect to Amber for sharing her stories. Lets keep this ball rolling. Start by standing up for one another.

God I love this girl... If you ever get tired of the USA Amber, come back to Amsterdam, we love black people!

Amber says WTF. Much respect for this funny lady when she gets serious and tells it like it is.

I can't

TO Amber Ruffin. Thank you for illuminating US white folks that did NOT know. OMG. I'll do better. PS out of curiosity what experiences have you had with black police officers? Surely they get it?!

So this is replacement-compilation to "Jokes of the Week"?

💗 Amber

I am a Black Brit, the only time I have ever had a gun pointed at me was when I was ten years old (49 years ago). I was on holiday with my mother in NewYork, we were shopping in Sears and my mother bought me a toy and gave me the bag. I followed behind my mum and my Aunt through the clothing department and opened my package in excitement, then I was suddenly snatched away between clothing racks by a plain-clothed man that said he was a security guard, he had a gun at my face and yelled at me about where did I get the toy from, I answered that we had just bought it and he yelled “where is the receipt?“ Being English, I had no idea that the receipt that had been stapled to the bag was important, so I told him it was in the bag. He checked and then gave me a lecture on American shopping practices while retreating his gun back into his holster inside his jacket and then sent me on my way. I could now hear my mum calling to find out where I had disappeared to, I was so traumatised that I did not tell her what had happened because I thought it was my fault. The kicker to the story is that the man who put a gun to a ten year old boy’s face was Black. That is when I first realised that America had serious problems and was not The Greatest Nation on Earth! Forty nine years later, It seems that nothing has really changed for the better! Now law enforcement kill blacks even when being filmed. I guess I was lucky that it was a black security guard!😧

geez i have heard some bad ones.

still in stride. so long suckers.

reminds me when granny arlene in nyc got burned by cops throwing them in jail just after being released.

i see the hate all the time here.

No one needs to hear a cop story from an old white guy... but I'm telling it anyway. When I was 17 years old, I got pulled over for speeding in a small midwestern town. I was guilty. It was not my first offense. I was a minor trouble-maker, but I was also charming, so I was trying to get out of the ticket. Now there were not a lot of black people in our community, but one of them - friend of mine - crossed the street and the cop that had pulled me over went ballistic. He let me off with a warning and then was yelling and pushing my friend around. I started to get out of my car, but the cop told me to leave. I was worried. I was not sure what my friend had done, but based on the cop's reaction, it must have been very serious. A couple of days later I saw my friend and asked what it was all about. "Jaywalking", he replied. "No really. You can tell me", I said. "Really. Jaywalking", he answered and shrugged, "It happens all the time." I was furious. I saw. I cared. I was never fine with it.

A New Day!

The most striking thing is that after all of the stories Amber has told about being mistreated by the police that she can some how end on a note of optimism that things can be turned around. That is some character.

I knew it was bad but ..WTF!? \ What happened to the protesters killed n

One time, I slid a stop. A stop everyone else in front of me slid, a stop I see cops slide every single time they get to it. But on that day, a really angry white cop decided that I specifically would get to have a ticket and be yelled at for 15 minutes. The moment I said anything about how unfair this was, the cop instantly puts a hand to their waist, to pull a gun? Oh btw, the cop was a white woman, and I'm a white man.

When I was 19 I was in my friend micro VW bus there were four us white teenagers this is 1988 ( I am old)!! Brian has his bong it was about 3-4’ tall no hiding that or the smoke from the toke I took! A cop pulls up what happened??? Nothing he told us to stop smoking weed and drove home he didn’t take the bud or bong ( thank god) or anything and let us drive him stoned!!! If we had been anything other than obviously a bunch of white kids I cannot fathom the outcome! White privilege is real

Damn straight Amber. There's a million of these stories. Here's a thing; If you're a POC looking for a cheap used truck, do not buy an old utility van. You get pulled over at random intervals by cops who want to look inside the back of the van. About four of those, in a week, and your survival instincts tell you GET THE HELL RID OF THAT THING. Take your pick. Between angry cops, aggressive cops, and scared cops there are no good choices. One guy I told about this said, 'well if they didn't have a warrant....' and that's SO not the point. I never cared about them looking in the van, I'm just trying not to get shot.

Tell me if what I did today was ok, and if not, tell me that too please. I am a 66-year-old white woman. I try to do this right thing and I try to be sensitive to everyone. I’ll admit I have been a “Karen” a couple of times and I truly regret that. Today I was at a small park on a pretty busy street in town. I went there to drink some coffee and read. I had to get out of the house! There are only two picnic tables under a little pavilion and some playground equipment nearby. A group of 3 white people had come and gone after eating their lunch at the other table, then another group of 3 white people arrived to eat their lunch. All was well. Then an African American man drove up and backed into a parking space (people park like that all the time around here, so it’s no big deal.). He stepped out of his truck and asked us if it was ok if he parked there and waited on his friend. We all told him sure, no problem. I wondered if he was afraid we didn’t want him there or if we might call the cops on him or if he might end up being arrested for being parked “while being Back”? I decided to just stay there reading until he and his friend got squared away. A mowing crew came and mowed and left and the people at the other table left. A little bit later the truck left. I figured he had spoken to his friend by phone and their plans had changed. Then I left too. I stayed there because I wanted to be sure no one gave him any trouble and I was prepared to speak up for him if they did. Did I do the right thing? Did I do a wrong thing? Was I way overthinking the situation? Am I being wired? Thanks.

It is good to know that she survived those incidents. It is so weird to hear her normal (non-comedic) voice but it is a testament to what an amazing performer she is!

I have come to the conclusion that anyone should be able to walk into a court and tell the judge "I had to shoot the officer sir, I saw him first"

Jimmy Kimmel is going to wear blackface and tell stories 😂😂😂😂

Omg. I just cried. I loved when she said, "When you see something, do something." Every Black person is a brave person.

As heartbreaking as these are, we need to hear these every damn day until we see change 😡👏😡👏

she joked at the beginning of some of these stories that she didn't have anymore that night, my white privilege was being able to believe for a second that that could be true. Black Lives Matter, defund the police.

I completely understand your take on your interactions with police, and agree that the level of their anger was in no way commensurate with what you were doing. You seem like you might be puzzled by it, though. I think their anger was absolutely equal to the fear they were experiencing as they interacted with you. Nothing you did should have elicited this level of fear - it was way out of balance with your actions. Obviously, their fear is based solely on the fact that you're black. The question we all need an answer to is, where does this fear come from? Is it based on their interactions with black people who happen to be criminals? Is it based on what they see in the media? It's been my experience living in mixed race neighborhoods in cities, that most people, black and white, are not criminals. Where are they getting these ideas? Once we know, it will be easier to help them behave in a way based on reality. They need therapy to help them see reality.

Probably institutional racism and propaganda.

This middle aged white guy says, Thanks Amber.

Years? Centuries

I lived in a share house in college and got the cops called on me by one of the subletters. Most of us were international students, living off campus in a Mexican community, and sublet it to others during the summer. I came by at the end of the summer to clear some things out (through the front door) and that must have freaked out the white resident who didn’t feel safe in our community, because despite my calling out, she locked herself in the bathroom and called the police. Eventually I grabbed my bike and started rolling it out of the front door when the police sped right onto the sidewalk in front of me. Bike in hand coming out of a house reported for breaking and entering, what do you think the police said? They asked, “What’s wrong?” Do you know how I could have looked like the most incriminating person and still be talked to like I’m the one that called the police? Because I’m also white. He then discussed with me how someone had called the police and asked me to explain what happened. I always remember that day. I am certain that I wouldn’t have gotten out of there by my own will if I hadn’t been white.

😭😭😭Thank you for sharing your stories, Amber. That couldn’t have been easy. Thank you.